[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43837-43838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15092]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 05-058-1]


Notice of Public Meeting on the Proposed Design and Development 
of an ePermits System

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service is holding a public meeting to introduce, and obtain 
feedback on, one portion of our proposed ePermits system. This meeting 
will focus on applications and permits for transiting and importing 
plants and plant products, including propagative material, fruits and 
vegetables, logs and

[[Page 43838]]

lumber, and material listed in the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 24, 2005, from 9 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA Center at 
Riverside, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gwendolyn Burnett, Regulatory 
Permit Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 
20737; phone (301) 734-8758, or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service's (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine program (PPQ) issues 
permits to persons who wish to import regulated plants and plant 
products into the United States or to transit regulated plants and 
plant products through the United States. Persons wishing to import 
plants and plant products or transit them through the United States 
must apply for a permit by submitting PPQ Form 585 (Application for 
Permit to Import Timber or Timber Products), Form 586 (Application for 
Permit to Transit Plants and/or Plant Products through the United 
States), Form 587 (Application for Permit to Import Plants or Plant 
Products), Form 588 (Application for Permit to Import Prohibited Plants 
or Plant Products for Experimental Purposes), or Form 621 (Application 
for Protected Plant Permit to Engage in the Business of Importing, 
Exporting, or Reexporting Terrestrial Plants), as appropriate. PPQ 
issued more than 3,500 permits in 2004.
    The APHIS ePermits system is a Web-based user interface that 
supports the electronic filing, processing, and tracking of 
applications for APHIS permits, including plant and plant product, 
plant pest, animal and animal product, and biotechnology permits. The 
system is scheduled to become available on a limited basis in the fall 
of 2005, with a series of expansions to follow. When fully implemented, 
the system will allow applicants to apply for, track the status of, and 
receive permits using the Internet.
    In order to provide an opportunity for applicants for various 
plant-related permits to review and comment on the software that has 
been developed for the ePermits system, APHIS is organizing a public 
meeting to demonstrate the capabilities of the online interface and the 
permit application data entry process. We will also provide information 
on short- and long-term plans for the ePermits system and how to 
register as an ePermits user. This meeting will focus on applications 
and permits for transiting and importing plants and plant products, 
including propagative material, fruits and vegetables, logs and lumber, 
and material listed in the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The public meeting will be 
held in Riverdale, MD, on August 24, 2005, beginning at 9 a.m., and is 
scheduled to end at 4:30 p.m.

Registration

    Due to space considerations, attendance at the public meeting will 
be limited to 50 people. We encourage preregistration. You may 
preregister by visiting http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/permits/stakeholders/workshop2/index.html or by contacting the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by August 19, 2005. Onsite 
registration for any remaining spaces will be held on the day of the 
meeting from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Parking and Security Procedures

    Please note that a fee of $2.25 is required to enter the parking 
lot at the USDA Center at Riverside. The machine accepts $1 bills or 
quarters.
    Picture identification is required to be admitted into the 
building. Upon entering the building, visitors should inform security 
personnel that they are attending the ePermits meeting.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of July 2005.
Elizabeth Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15092 Filed 7-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P